Eye injury fells Green; Spurs lead 52-44 at half

Tim Duncan is taking the night off tonight, but it hasn’t bothered the Spurs.

Danny Green scored 11 points before leaving because of an injury and Manu Ginobili added 10 to lead the Spurs to a 52-44 halftime lead over Cleveland.

The Spurs led by as much as 16 points after Kawhi Leonard’s jumper with 5:25 left in the half gave them a 43-27 lead.

But Cleveland charged back on a 12-2 spurt capped by a basket by rookie Kyrie Irving that pulled them within 45-39 and make the game seem more competitive.

Antawn Jamison has scored a game-high 12 points and Manny Harris has added 11 to lead the Cavs.

The Spurs have struggled from the perimeter hitting only 30.8 percent of their 3-pointers. But they have maintained a 25-22 rebounding edge.

Green went to the locker room to have a cut over his left eye treated after he was a victim of a flagrant foul by Harris late in the second quarter.

The Spurs are attempting to become the first team in NBA history to claim five straight victories by 21 points or more. In order to achieve that feat, they’ll need to push it in the second half.

Of more pressing concern, after Oklahoma City’s double-overtime loss at the Lakers today, the Spurs can claim the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed in the playoffs if they can win tonight and Monday night against Portland.

The Spurs have the tiebreaker over the Thunder after winning two of the three games against them earlier this season.

Just a guess here. But I’m betting that’s much more important to Gregg Popovich than notching any statistical achievement.